A weird excerpt from Francona: The Red Sox Years ...
Derek Jeter will not be ignored
By 2009, [Derek Jeter’s] routine in Red Sox games involved acknowledging Francona before his first at-bat of each game. Approaching home plate, Jeter would look over into the Boston dugout and gesture toward the Sox manager with his hand or bat. If Francona was momentarily distracted, Jeter would step back and wait for a response before proceeding with his work.
“A couple of times somebody in our dugout would have to nudge me and say, ‘Hey, look over at him! He’s waiting for you to wave back,” said Francona.
... Once Jeter established the ritual, coaches in the Red Sox dugout noticed A-Rod started to mime the gesture. Francona never noticed. He wouldn’t intentionally ignore Rodriguez, but he had too much to do and there were usually runners on base by the time A-Rod came to the plate.
A great Twilight Zone episode would be an alternate universe where Alex Rodriguez is universally beloved by his teammates and sportswriters and Derek Jeter is kind of a socially awkward pariah.
(H/T to Squatto.)
See More:
